Lebanon equips new Emergency Operations Center with help from Lebanon School District

Lebanon Fire Commissioner Duane Trautman shows Mayor Sherry Capello the city's new Emergency Operations Center equipped with radios and other equipment purchased with a $13,000 state grant. Located in the maintenance building at Lebanon High School, the EOC will be used during large scale emergencies. (JOHN LATIMER)

It's been almost three years since Tropical Storm Lee dumped nearly a foot-and-a-half of rain on the Lebanon Valley, but Lebanon Fire Commissioner Duane Trautman still has vivid memories of the disaster that destroyed hundreds of homes, caused millions of dollars in damage, and took the lives of three area residents.

Working from his Ford sports utility vehicle equipped with a laptop computer, Trautman took phone calls and dispatched crews and equipment to help stranded motorists and residents dealing with flooded basements, crumbling foundations, and other damage caused by the historic flooding.

During the course of the 36-hour deluge Trautman logged 325 calls, but the total was much higher because his working conditions did not allow him to officially record all of them.

The lessons learned from that disaster came to fruition on Monday, when Trautman, along with Mayor Sherry Capello dedicated an Emergency Operations Center.

Located in a room in the new maintenance building at Lebanon High School, the EOC doesn't look like much — just a large desk supporting a collection of radios, computers, and phones.

But it will make a world of difference in helping to coordinate the response when communicating with Lebanon County Emergency Management Agency during the inevitable emergencies the city will experience in the future, Trautman said.

"One of their (EMA's) big problems during Lee was the transfer of emergency calls, or any calls for service to area fire departments," he said. "And that's where EOCs popped up. It gave EMA a central point to give those calls to and they could be arranged and organized. Of course, we were the lions' share of that. This gives us at least a central place to be, a central collection point where we can control our resources from."

The equipment was purchased with a $13,000 grant from the state's gaming fund. And the school district, which will continue to use the room for its purposes, is sharing the space at no cost to the city.

The district's willingness to provide the room is another example of its great partnership with the city, said Capello, who along with Trautman and police Chief Daniel Wright serve on a Safe Schools Committee with Superintendent Marianne Bartley and other school officials.

"We have a great working relationship with the school district in all areas," the mayor said. "We are so appreciative that they were willing to provide us with this space."

Trautman said he is confident it will work effectively because a temporary EOC functioned well two years ago, when it was opened in the high school's garage in preparation for the impact of Hurricane Sandy that never fully -materialized locally.

"This room wasn't even remotely ready," he recalled. "We went into the maintenance garage and they set up tables for us, and we were pulling in resources. ... And it really worked. That was kind of a good lesson for us."

It also won't take a disaster the scope of Tropical Storm Lee to open the EOC, Trautman said. He could have used one two weeks ago when an evening storm swept through the city.

"We had 15 or 16 calls that came in all at once," he said. "We were out on the road and did the best we could. But, again, it would have been nice to have a central point to deal with it."

With access to the maintenance building's showers and kitchen, the EOC is ideal, said the fire commissioner.

"I never expected to have this," Trautman said. "The best EOC is one you don't have to build, maintain, or heat or cool or anything. This is kind of the best of everything in my opinion."